Icbccss&p500usd Discussion Threads

[don muang] 04/9/2006 10:26

Profits soar at China's top firms
China's 500 largest companies saw combined profits rise by more than a fifth to 642.8bn yuan ($80.4bn; £42.1bn) last year, research has found.
Profits rose 23%, according to the China Enterprise Confederation, while combined sales totalled $1.8 trillion.

China's red-hot economic growth has been driven by growth in the energy, chemicals, steel and banking sectors.

According to the survey, oil firm Sinopec is China's most profitable, with returns of $2.8bn in 2005.

Banking profits

This represented a 108% increase on Sinopec's earnings compared with the previous year, as profits were boosted by oil prices that surged to record highs.

China's four other most profitable firms were electricity supplier State Power Grid, China National Petroleum Corporation, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and China Mobile.


FIVE MOST PROFITABLE FIRMS
Sinopec
State Power Grid
China National Petroleum
Industrial Bank of China
China Mobile

Energy firms have benefited from dominant positions in the marketplace while reforms to laws governing foreign investment in finance firms have boosted bank returns.

Of the 500 companies included in the list, 349 are state owned.

The contribution of China's leading companies to overall economic output has continued to grow.

The sales of the top 500 accounted for 78% of China's total gross domestic product (GDP) last year, up from 74% in 2004 and 56% in 2001.

Despite the overall growth in returns, the survey revealed that many Chinese firms are struggling to boost profitability.

The top 85 companies accounted for 85% of overall profits.

The Chinese economy continues to grow rapidly, expanding nearly 11% in the first quarter of the year.

Story from BBC NEWS:


Published: 2006/09/04 07:47:16 GMT

© BBC MMVI

[energyi] 19/7/2006 23:11

Bubble Trouble In Shanghai?
Russell Flannery and Maggie Chen 01.25.06, 12:00 PM ET

Click here for the 2006 Shanghai real estate outlook:




Most Overpriced Places
150 Cheap Places To Live

Shanghai, China - Shanghai's biggest fans gush with predictions of an endless economic boom and liberation from transportation problems. And with the city's property market taking a breather of late, pessimists have been having their day, with equal facts-to-the-wind gusto.

"You read these articles about rows and rows and rows of empty buildings," says Michael Hart, head of research at Jones Lang LaSalle (nyse: JLL - news - people ), the global property brokerage from Chicago. "I haven't seen them, and I live here. There's some exaggeration."

Yet, rather than a bursting bubble, the city's property market seems merely to be cooling down. The city's index of prices for new homes was poised to end the year about where it began. And buoyed by the city's booming economy and foreign investment, industry executives say office rents actually climbed as much as 30% in 2005. Not the stuff of a bubble blowing out.

"What's happening in Shanghai now--with foreigners driving up the costs of living in the best parts of town--is similar to what's already happened in the world's other great cities to which Shanghai aspires: Do 'real' Londoners rent in South Kensington, or New Yorkers on the Upper East Side, or Hong Kong natives on the Peak?" says Shu Yin Lee, a partner with Grand River Investments, an affiliate of Los Angeles-based Dalton Investments.

What's ahead for Shanghai real estate? To get a handle on that, we surveyed eight experts, including four real estate developers that made our annual listing of China's 400 richest. There are a some common themes, particularly that buoyant demand and growing wealth will continue to drive prices in the city's business center.

Click here for the 2006 Shanghai real estate outlook.
"Urbanization, continued economic development and ever-rising household income are preconditions that ensure that, overall, the trend in the property market will stay good," says Fan Wei, CEO of Hong Kong-listed Shanghai Forte, one of the city's largest developers. Fan ranked 115th on our list of China's richest last year.

The city's economy has been red-hot. Last year GDP increased by a government-estimated 11.1%, versus about 9.8% for China as a whole. Foreign companies have contributed mightily to property demand and prosperity. American companies to sign large leasing agreements in the city of late include General Motors (nyse: GM - news - people ), eBay (nasdaq: EBAY - news - people ) and Yum Brands (nyse: YUM - news - people ).

Heightened demand for new office space by businesses--local or foreign--will continue to fuel the office market in 2006, says Chen Zaochun, the chairman of luxury property developer of Fizi. Chen ranked 70th on our listing of China's wealthiest.

Demand for cushy villas will also stay strong. Shanghai's well-off are still snapping them up despite the government's credit-tightening, says Wang Ziyang, editor of Villa World, a one-inch thick magazine loaded with glossy color photos of pricey Shanghai developments with names like "Exuberance Villa" and "Sound Spain."

"Governments restrictions on land use for new villas will also help villa prices rise, especially in areas that have a good natural environment and some unique elements," Wang says. Wang is profiting from demand himself: His magazine recently increased its frequency to monthly from quarterly.

The city's wealthiest real estate developer, Hui Wing Mau (Xu Rongmao), also sees good demand for those homes among the city's well-heeled. "Villas in general have lagged other residential properties in price increases in the past few years and will attract investment" this year, Hui says, particularly those in areas with good scenery.

To be sure, tighter credit and higher property sales taxes have hit speculators and hurt prices at the low end, especially in the first half of the year. "There will continue to be some price declines in the first half of the year," Xu says.

But longer-term, the challenge for Shanghai's developers is how to handle the growing number of foreign players. "Companies need to think hard about the challenge from foreign companies," says Chen Weifeng, chairman of the Ying Tong Group. He ranked 368th on our list last year.

The foreigners will keep coming because growth is there. "Things will be coming back," predicts Elijah Widjaja, chairman of the BundCenter, a $400 million dollar hotel and office complex built by his Indonesian family and a Shanghai state-owned company. Things weren't too bad at the complex's Westin Hotel last Friday. It was fully booked

...mORE:

[energyi] 19/7/2006 12:50

Agile vaults on IPO, China property bets

Shares in mainland property developer Agile Property Holdings' HK$3.15 billion initial public offering jumped 17.4 percent on their debut amid optimism over the mainland property market and an end-of-year surge of interest in IPOs.

CarolChan

Friday, December 16, 2005


Shares in mainland property developer Agile Property Holdings' HK$3.15 billion initial public offering jumped 17.4 percent on their debut amid optimism over the mainland property market and an end-of-year surge of interest in IPOs.
The stock rose as much as 27.3 percent to HK$4.20 in early trading Thursday before falling back to close at HK$3.875 - 57.50 HK cents above the offering price of HK$3.30.

About 578.5 million shares worth HK$2.33 billion changed hands, accounting for almost one-tenth of total turnover on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Investor enthusiasm for new offerings revived sharply after the strong performance of the government's Link REIT, which closed at a new high of HK$15.60 Thursday. The shares have soared 51.5 percent since their November 25 listing.

The offer by Agile, whose projects include one in Zhongshan, Guangdong, attracted hefty demand from investors.

Institutional buyers placed orders for 24 times as much stock as was on offer in their part of the IPO, while the retail portion was 241 times oversubscribed.

Prosperity REIT's HK$1.92 billion IPO, which begins trading today, is expected to surge more than 20 percent, said Phillip Securities analyst Stephen Tse.

He said investors Thursday placed advance orders in the so-called "gray market" for Prosperity REIT units for between HK$2.55 and HK$2.775 each, 18 to 28 percent higher than the offering price of HK$2.16. The retail portion of the sale by Cheung Kong (Holdings) was 259 times oversubscribed.

The gray market is over-the-counter trading of shares that will be launched soon in the stock market.

China's property market, which saw prices rise 8 percent in the second quarter and 6.1 percent in the third in the 70 largest cities, has lured foreign investors including ING, Macquarie, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Singapore's Temasek Holdings.

Temasek and the United States' Tiger Fund, which bought a combined 16.7 percent stake in Guangdong-based property developer Hopson Development for HK$977 million in August, have since reaped paper gains of about HK$500 million each after the share price subsequently doubled.

Shares in one of Agile's rivals in the provincial capital, Guangzhou R&F Properties, have shot up 140.7 percent since their July trading debut.

"We believe that housing demand ... should continue to be robust as the Chinese economy continues to grow, and we should continue to see further growth in transaction volume, especially in second-tier cities such as Chongqing, Chengdu and Ningbo," Citigroup analyst Tong Tsang said in a report.

The bank expects to see more mainland-based REITs getting listed in Hong Kong next year, he said.

Separately, shares of China Ting Group, a Ningbo-based silk apparel maker, also rose in first-day trading.

The stock finally closed at HK$2.15, up 6.2 percent from its offer price of HK$2.025

@:

[energyi] 18/7/2006 12:39

TRENDS---

1/
Above average income Chinese investing in China's property market

Chinese citizens with an annual salary above 110,000 yuan ($13,750) are increasing investing in China's property market, according to a recent survey jointly issued by a government-backed research institute and MasterCard Organization

2/
China's mainland average price growth for residential properties to slow to under 5% to 2008

The growth in average prices for residential properties on China's mainland is expected to slow to below 5% over the next two years, while Shanghai's housing prices are likely to drop further by 15%, an industry report forecast last week.

Class-A office building rents in Shanghai hit 7-year high

Average rents in Class-A office buildings in Shanghai reached $1.01 per sqm per day in the first half of the year, their highest level in the past seven years, said a report issued yesterday by Colliers International Property Consultants.

3/
Developer Poly Real Estate Group to sell 27% in initial share sale in Shanghai to finance projects

Poly Real Estate Group Co, China's largest state-owned developer, plans to sell a 27% stake in an initial share sale in Shanghai to finance projects after the government tightened bank lending to the property industry, the Shanghai Daily reported.


@:

[energyi] 18/7/2006 12:26

Foreign cash flow continues into China's property market
Last Updated(Beijing Time):2006-07-14 10:59

Overseas investors continue to pump money into China's real estate market amid speculation that the government may restrict property purchases by foreigners.

Standard Chartered Private Equity Ltd said yesterday it has invested HK$370 million (US$47.6 million) in Greentown China Holdings Ltd, a Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province-based developer. There were no details on the ownership arrangement, however.

The move comes a month after Standard Chartered announced it would invest US$50 million in Shimao Property Holdings, a luxury residential and hotel developer based in Shanghai.

Greentown China Holdings Ltd raised HK$2.67 billion from its Hong Kong initial public offering on Monday to fund development throughout China. The company has a land bank of 8.6 million square meters across the nation, according to its IPO prospectus.

Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley has acquired an uncompleted office building in downtown Shanghai for 1.96 billion yuan (US$245 million), a source familiar with the deal said yesterday.

Donghai Plaza, located at the intersection of Nanjing Road W. and Tongren Road, is one of the most problematic buildings in Jing'an District, with a complicated history of ownership changes since it started construction about 10 years ago.

Jing'an District maintained its status in the second quarter as home to the city's highest office rents, at US$1.27 per square meter per day, about a 15 percent increase from the same period last year.

Higher investment return and anticipation of further appreciation in China's currency have generated an upswing in foreign interest since 2005.

Total overseas investment in the first half was about US$3.5 billion, 70 percent of last year's total, estimated Michael Hart of China (North) Jones Lang LaSalle.

Speculation has mounted recently over what additional measures the government might employ to target foreign institutional investors and individual foreign residential investors, but nothing official has been announced.

Some news media have reported that the government may ban real estate investment by companies that are not incorporated in China to curb speculation that inflates prices, citing draft rules from the Ministry of Construction.

@:

[energyi] 18/7/2006 12:20

China's GDP growth soars to 11.3pc
Updated at 5.06pm:
China expanded at its fastest pace in a decade with an 11.3 per cent expansion in the second quarter, the government said on Tuesday, triggering speculation that more tightening could be imminent.

@:

[don muang] 01/7/2006 04:22

Malaysia piggybacks on China's boom

[don muang] 26/6/2006 05:44

Chinese businesses eye Vietnam

Executives from 200 leading Chinese enterprises gathered Friday in Beijing for a conference aimed at seeking trade opportunities in neighboring Vietnam.

The conference, titled "Conference on trade and investment promotion in Vietnam", was organized by the Vietnamese embassy in China and the Chinese Customs Association.

The Chinese businesses were greatly interested in knowing about Vietnam's investment environment and tax policies.

Officials from the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the embassy explained Vietnam's trade and investment situation and answered questions from Chinese entrepreneurs and reporters.

The Vietnamese ambassador in China and president of the Chinese Customs Association stressed the importance of trade and investment promotion activities between the two countries.

Chinese businesses were welcome to their country, Vietnamese officials assured.

Source: Vietnam News Agency


Story from Thanh Nien News
Published: 25 June, 2006, 12:40:51 (GMT+7)
Copyright Thanh Nien News

[hectorp] 15/6/2006 09:40

To answer my OWN quetion of two posts back China new 5-year plan is announced, with estimated planned growth ov 7% per year for the 5 years ( assume averaged)

[hectorp] 15/6/2006 09:39

annual production output in China strongly up in MAY, the strongest for 2 years. ( Bloomberg)

doesn't sound like there will be a glut of cheap metals around to fulfull china's need any time soon.

[a.fewbob] 14/6/2006 10:35

Anyone invested in Commodities needs to watch this space.

[hectorp] 14/6/2006 10:30

I wonder what a 1-2% fall in expected US growth rate for 2007, would do to China's expected 9? % growth rate for 2007.
My instinct is that it would have a geared negative effect on China's growth rate.
The same qn can be asked regarding India, other Far East countries , other emerging market countries ( maybe not Russia).

I'm seriously looking at Russian investments, such as AURR Aurora.

[energyi] 25/5/2006 05:20

Al Azizia Commercial Investment Company (ACIC) Chaired by Prince Alwaleed Offers To Acquire $2 billion Strategic Stake In Bank of China (BOC)

24 May 2006
Prince Alwaleed: "We are pleased with this historical offer in line with King Abdullah's initiative and hope it is one of many to come"
HRH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, Chairman of Al Azizia Commercial Investment Company (ACIC) and an elite group of Saudi investors sign an agreement for a strategic offer for $2 billion in the Bank of China (BOC). The Saudi group of investors from prominent companies include:

+ Mr. Ma'an bin Abdulwahid Al Sanie, Chairman of Saad Group
+ Muhaidib Group
+ Olayan Saudi Investment Company
+ Bahamdan Holding Group
+ Amwal Al Khaleej Commercial Investment Company Ltd.

"China is among the top 5 leading global economies," said Prince Alwaleed. "We are pleased with this historical offer in line with King Abdullah's initiative and hope it is one of many to come."

The $2 billion offer represents a 2.7 % stake in BOC common equity. "This historical offer is the first of its kind in the second largest state owned bank in China and one of the largest banks in Asia," said Eng. Ahmed Halawani, CEO of ACIC. "It came in line with the Royal initiative to develop and strengthen commercial and business relations with the People's Republic of China which was the major highlight of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah's visit to China and the Chinese President's visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."

Mr Halawani also said that the acquisition reaffirms the consortium members' belief in the importance of diversifying geographical investments, especially in a country like the People's Republic of China that has an economy reflecting sustainable growth and visibility. The consortium members also believe that the financial services in general and BOC as a flagship among Chinese banks in particular, form the main foundation of the Chinese economy.

Prince Alwaleed had met with the Chinese President Hu Jintao during his two day visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The two met at the Conference Palace in Riyadh, April, 2006. During the meeting the two discussed social and economic issues, and the bi-lateral relationship between their respective countries. Also on the agenda of discussions between the Chinese President and the Prince were the Prince's investments in China that include seven Four Seasons (FS) hotels and Citigroup in which the Prince owns the largest sake and is currently the number one company (issued in Forbes).

The seven FS hotels are owned through entities controlled by His Highness and his family. There are currently three operational luxury hotels which include the FS Shabu Shabu in the heart of Taiwan, the FS Hong Kong and the Four Seasons Shanghai. In addition, there are four more Luxury hotels under development in the People's Republic of China, the FS Macau (Special Administration Region of China), the FS Beijing, FS Shanghai and the FS Taiwan.

@:

[energyi] 21/5/2006 09:36

(From GEI : )


A new modern economy is growing in front of their eyes.

Why send their funds half way around the world to a country that is accusing them of manipulating their currency, so Americans can enjoy a great lifestyle and burn up scarce drops of fuel in oversized SUV's? (I am sure the average Chinese is increasingly thinking like this.)

:

Right after President Hu finished his trip to the US. What did we see:

+ Falling US Dollar
+ Falling US Bond prices
+ Rising Gold prices

Do you think that was an accident?

[krishall] 18/5/2006 05:13

Growth of China, India benefit not threat - Australia PM

CHICAGO (AFX) - The economic expansion and growing political influence of
China and India is a benefit, not a threat to American leadership and the global
system, Australian Prime Minister John Howard said.
The economic expansion of both nations is swelling the ranks of the global
middle class and will lead to greater political participation and environmental
stewardship, he said.
"China's rise is one of the defining phenomenons of our age," Howard said in
a speech to the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations.
"We see it as good for China, good for Australia, good for the world."
However, China must contribute more to the institutions that underpin global
prosperity and security and the international community must work to build on
shared interests and widen the circle of cooperation if China is to be a
"constructive member of the international system," Howard said.
"It is not only China that needs to adjust to changing realities. The
international community must also acknowledge that China is determined to
succeed and to reclaim its place in the global order," Howard said.
"A constructive dialogue between the United States and China, which allows
frank and open discussions, will contribute greatly to regional peace and
stability."
Howard said he anticipates that India will play a greater role in regional
affairs and that India's recent agreement with the US on nuclear issues will
"provide greater transparency and contribute to reducing nuclear tensions in the
region".
"With an increasing intersection of interests, I envisage our two countries
developing a close economic and security partnership," he said.
mso/ch/dg

[krishall] 10/5/2006 05:50

Australian treasury says economy faces structural changes as China booms

SYDNEY (AFX) - The Australian economy faces structural changes if a
commodity boom driven by economic growth in China and to a lesser extent India
becomes prolonged, treasury officials said.
The officials, in budget papers, said a continuation of strong catch-up
growth in the large developing economies will generate further increases in
energy and mineral needs over an extended period and are likely to keep
commodity prices high.
The papers indicate that capital and labor could shift out of some sectors,
including manufacturing, agriculture and services as Australia's resources
sector continues to ride the China boom.
"If we are at the early stages of a long-lived change in Australia's
comparative advantage, this change is likely to generate significant
reallocation of activity among major sectors of the economy," the budget papers
said.
"Higher average returns in the capital-intensive resource sector for an
extended period would raise the profit share of national income, and provide
continuing stimulus for high levels of business investment in that sector."
The papers argued that the rise of China and other large developing
countries presents opportunities for Australia to exploit its comparative
advantage in natural resources and "high-end" goods and services, although some
more labor-intensive sectors are likely to face increasing competition.
They said China's future development is likely to involve progressively more
capital-intensive production, but its international trade will for a long time
reflect its relative abundance of labor.
"That means China will continue to export mostly labour-intensive
manufactures, and to import mostly raw materials, foodstuffs and
capital-intensive manufactures," they said.
The papers said the likely further growth of China generally suggests that
countries which specialize in labor intensive manufacturing and assembly are
most likely to be adversely affected by China's rise.
By contrast, countries specializing in the production and export of
components, capital goods and raw materials are more likely to be favorably
affected.
The papers noted the global effects of India's growth have so far been much
less than those of China's, because India remains a relatively closed economy
with only a small share of global trade in goods and services.

[e-mail]
blh/tr

[energyi] 24/4/2006 10:18

There's a SHANGHAI DIARY running now on HPC and GEI
========================

Has anyone read Jim Roger's book, Adventure Capitalist ? Or Investment Biker?

Fine books- very amusing and with some great insights into investment opportunities round the globe.

I want to do something similar on my short trip to China (see below).
I intend to keep a daily Diary on my own GEI website.
But it occurred to me that some folks on HPC might also be interested in having a look.
So, what do you think, should I also publish the daily installments here?


Below is today's first installment:

= = =

Adventure Capitalist Dr.B Gets a Visa; China begins on Portland Place

I am packing my bags and my laptop computer, and in a few hours I will be on Virgin flight VS250 bound for Shanghai. I am a big fan of Jim Rogers, and enjoyed greatly his two books, "Investment Biker" and "Adventure Capitalist". I hope to carry a similar perspective on my trip. I won't be just a tourist, but a traveller-investor. I will be someone with his eyes open to investment opportunities, and also observing the price that China is paying for its rapid growth.

My girlfriend, the ever-adventurous Dr.YH has been in Shanghai for a month. She is there on a freelance job as a psychologist, a task for which she is well-qualified. Last year, she completed seven years of study, and earned her Phd at Oxford. Finding it difficult to find the right career opportunities in the UK, she has begun to seek some assignments that will take her back to the Far East. Shanghai was her first trip, and we agreed that it would be a mistake if I missed the opportunity to see Shanghai with her. So today, I leave to join her for nine days, at the tailend of her stay.

Getting a Visa was an experience, and told me something about how the Chinese regard Americans. Last week, I took off a morning from trading to go and cue up at the Chinese embassy. There was a strange collection of Europeans in the cue. The Chinese sped right past us into a short cue line, where they could quickly renew their right to visit their homeland. The round-eyes waited as the line snaked forward.

.

The person in front of me was a nervous student type, that looked as if he had just arrived from an overnight encampment with Swampy and a group of environmental protestors. He hadn't washed his hair in weeks, and the clothes looked as if they could barely recall what the inside of a washing machine looked like. But he was bright-eyed and friendly, and was carrying a big stack of passports. Obviously, he was making some extra spending money, by saving the burden of standing in line for his employer, a travel agent and several of their China-bound clients. As the line moved forward, "swampy" surrendered his place in the cue to one of his fellow travelers, and then proceeded to the copier to top-up his stack of documents. Little needed to be said and it was clear that they had both done this many times before. This made me think that China had found a great way to support the cost of their London Embassy. Thousands of tourists visit China everday from the UK, and if they can collect a twenty pound note or two from everyone that does, they may even be able to cover the high London rents.

Eventually I got to the front of the cue handed my passport and the form through the window to a helpful young Chinese girl. I was told that I could return to another room downstairs and pick up the Visa in an hour. A swedish businessman friend of mine had gone through the same process three days earlier, so I did the same as him, I requested a multiple entry visa, and was refused. I was told that I could go for a two trip visa, but I wasn't told the cost. Hans had told me that he had paid 45 pounds for getting his Double entry right, and so I said fine. It seemed like alot, but 25 pounds of that cost was for getting it on an "express" basis within the same day. I was amused that the Chinese had created a system of granting access to travel which brought delays, and then they charged extra for the right to shorten the wait.

When I returned two hours later, i cued again. This time the cue was shorter but slower moving. I could see "swampy" near the front, he must have known that the trick was to come early, soon after the door opened at 11:30, and save the delays in this slower cue. His eyes looked even brighter, as if he'd found a way to refresh himself between waits. He had a look of triumph as he walked away with his stack of passports. In fact there was a sort of ritual, people handed their money through the window, and got their passports back. Nearly everyone would immediately open the passport to have a good close look at the modifications that had been made. It wasnt clear to me whether they were doing this to see if it looked as if it was worth the money and the wait, or whether they wanted to be sure that the Chinese had not screwed up, and given them the right to visit only Tibet and Inner Mongolia.

When i reach the front, I opened my wallet and pulled out 45 pounds. The girl asked for more. "Seventy Pounds", she insisted, as she saw my look of complete surprise. I protested, saying that was a different price than I had seen on the internet. She said, "There is a sign on the wall upstairs with our prices. Go and have a look but you must pay me. I cannot change the stamp. It has been processed already." I checked my wallet, and found that all I had was 65 pounds. Seeing that I was not going to get her to offer the same 45 pounds that Hans had paid for an identical visa, I asked if I could get only the single entry visa, which I thought would be cheaper. She said, "Pay me now, and you can change it upstairs." By then, those in the cue behind me were getting restless. A tiny Scottish man just behind me had overheard the conversation and offered me a loan of five pounds until I could recover the money upstairs. I fished in my pocket, and found a collection of coins that added up to just over five pounds. Resigned to the defeat, I handed them across the counter and retrieved my passport.

Instead of the triumphant search for the stamp inside, as virtually everyone else had done, I stalked out of the room, and headed upstairs. I searched a noticeboard on the wall and eventually found a small price list. Swedish Hans has paid 45 pounds for his visa, and felt ripped off, I was curious to see if they had raised the price by 55% over the long Easter weekend. I discovered that the price of the visa depended upon which passport you were carrying. Hans paid twenty pounds for his double entry, plus a 25 pound "express" charge. Apparently, as a Swede he fit into the "All Other" category. Brits and Americans were singled out for special treatment. Had I been carrying a British passport, I would have paid a combined 65 pounds. Only Americans had to pay the extra special price of 70 pounds.

So why is that, how can they possibly justify charging the extra 20 pounds to British passport holders, and a princely extra 25 pounds to Americans. Is it because they are charging what they think the trade will bear, that Brits and Americans are wealthier than Swedes and "all others"? Or have the Chinese wised up, and figured out that they are subsidising consumers in Americans, by purchasing all those US Treasury securities at bargain interest rates. Perhaps they can get back all those missing billions, by taking 25 pounds onto the standard visa charge. It might work over a million years or so.

I walked away, realising that I had just had my first brush with Chinese bureaucracy, even though I had not yet step foot on Chinese soil.


= = =
CONTINUES Here:

[knowing] 07/4/2006 07:55

SEOUL (AFX) - The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will make 30 pct more money
than Athens four years earlier, a "huge" windfall, International Olympic
Committee (IOC) chief Jacques Rogge said.
Closing a three-day meeting of the IOC executive board here, Rogge said the
future of the Olympic was secure, thanks to soaring marketing and TV rights.
"If you look at the revenue for the next Games in 2008 we are already plus
30 pct in comparison to the previous Games. So this is a huge increase," said
Rogge, according to Agence France-Presse.
Looking further ahead he said he expected the 2010 Winter Olympics in
Vancouver and the 2012 Summer Games in London to generate income of 3.3 bln, up
700 mln usd or 27 pct from the 2006 Winter Games in Turin and Beijing in 2008.
He noted that six countries were already expressing an interest in hosting
the 2016 Games -- Brazil, India, Italy, Japan, Spain and the United States.
"So I can say that yes the financial future of the Olympic Games is secure,"
he told a final press conference.

[m.t.glass] 21/3/2006 12:13

"...In recent months, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has invested US$140 million in three small Hong Kong-listed companies in businesses ranging from construction to gas exploration. Buying either equity or equity-linked securities, the New York investment bank has helped fund these thinly traded and capitalized companies, which aren't in a category generally associated with one of Wall Street's premier names...."

Full article at

- includes reference to London-listed Crosby Capital (CSB) which is 81% owned by TechPacific

[krishall] 20/3/2006 13:27

Wal-Mart to hite 150,000 in China....
see...

[energyi] 09/3/2006 19:24

Bank watchdog admits scandal at BOC branch
Zhang Fengming
2006-03-10
CHINA'S banking regulator yesterday confirmed a corruption scandal in a Bank of China branch in Heilongjiang Province in the northeast, which was recently exposed by a media report.

The bank incurred losses after a businessman fraudulently obtained banker's acceptance bills from a branch in Heilongjiang and cashed them at other banks.

It was the for the first time that China Banking Regulatory Commission gave an official confirmation of the scandal.

A number of bank officials, including the former head of the BOC's Shuangyashan city Sima Road sub-branch in the northeast province, have been named as suspects, Tang said.

"Part of the money has been recovered, but a large sum of the fund is still missing," he said.

Meanwhile, the bank has agreed to sell a 5 percent stake to a government pension fund for 10 billion yuan (US$1.24 billion) as the country's second-biggest lender proceeds with its listing plan.

"The bank signed the deal with the country's social security fund yesterday," said Wang Zhaowen, BOC's spokesman confirming an earlier media report.

The deal signals BOC's latest step to attract strategic investors before its initial public offering in Hong Kong.

The biggest foreign currency lender in China said earlier this month it is proceeding smoothly on its planned IPO. The lender is expected to rake in as much as US$8 billion in its IPO after shelving plans for a simultaneous offering in Shanghai.

China's social security fund became the fifth investor of the lender following the deal. The lender has already sold around 17 percent to foreign investors.

Authorities are pushing China's banks to restructure, including attracting strategic investors and then go public overseas, as part of moves to improve their competitiveness as they brace for the full opening of the country's banking industry to foreign rivals late this year.

Bank of Communications and China Construction Bank went public in Hong Kong last year while BOC and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China are expected to follow suit this year.